International Criminal Law

International criminal law is a challenging but fascinating subject, and likely to remain very relevant for the foreseeable future.

Professional Certificate –  8 sessions

Online Classes

Date

Wednesday, September 14, 2024
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Time

5:00 PM-7:30 PM

Provided by

The University of London (QMUL & UCL) and the American University of Technology LLM support program.

Course Description

International criminal law is a challenging but fascinating subject, and likely to remain very relevant for the foreseeable future.

What sort of conduct is regarded as so utterly unacceptable that it is a crime under international law? How is international criminal law created? And how can individuals be held to account for international crimes?

This course will help you explore the answers to these questions – answers which, as you will see, are seldom clearcut. It will not turn you into an expert in international criminal law – that would take many years of study and practice – but it does aim to give you a solid basis on which to build, including knowledge and understanding of key institutions and processes of international law as well as the substantive law itself.

If you study the course attentively, you will become familiar with both the most important primary sources of the law and leading scholarly commentaries on it. You will gain an awareness of many tensions, problems, controversies and ambiguities in the law, and you will develop critical and research skills that will help you monitor and assess further developments.

The Course Is Composed of 4 Modules

Module A: General context and international crimes before national courts;
Module B:  International criminal courts and tribunals;
Module C: The core international crimes (crimes within the jurisdiction of international tribunals;
Module D: General principles of international criminal law.

About Module A ‘General Context And International Crimes Before Courts

Module A identifies the main sources of international criminal law and examines the juridical and practical difficulties for states in asserting jurisdiction over international crimes through their national courts. It also explains how systems of universal and treaty-based quasi-universal jurisdiction have been developed to try to hold individuals to account for certain international crimes.

Material Required

We will provide you with required study guides written by eminent UoL professors and leaders in the field, in addition to up to date reading materials, including articles and case laws. Students registered in the LLM program will receive additional textbooks and will be assisted with additional sessions focusing on past UoL-LLM examinations. 

Speaker

Dr. Rita Eid
Lawyer

Rita Eid is a lawyer and a member of the Beirut Bar Association since 2013. She heads the International Litigation Department and the Research Department at YAZConsult, an active law firm in Lebanon, the UAE and Estonia. Her expertise includes criminal law, international law, international corporate law, contracts and legal research. Dr. Eid has worked on multiple international cases and contracts in the UAE, France, Thailand, Qatar, Kuwait, Haiti among others. 

Dr. Eid completed her Ph.D. in International Criminal Law from the Doctoral School of Law, Political, Administrative and Economic Sciences at the Lebanese University in collaboration with Université Pierre Mendès-France – Grenoble 2 in 2012. Her work focused in particular on the international criminal ad hoc tribunals and political immunities before international criminal courts.

Dr. Eid is also an associate professor at the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Law, lecturing on topics which include international criminal law (M2), international and regional organizations, introduction to law, personal guarantees (M2), human rights, and penal procedure. She is also a supervisor and first reader for masters and PhD thesis. Dr. Eid has published numerous articles in her area of expertise on topics such as torture, pre-trial detention, presumption of innocence and alteration in photocopy image.

As an expert in law amendments, she was recently appointed by UNICEF and the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs as a legal consultant for the amendment of law 422/2002. In addition, she was also appointed by Her Excellency the Minister of Justice as a member in the Committee for the Amendment of Prisons Law. Previous appointments through YAZConsult includes a key expert role to advise Arcenciel on the proposition of a law concerning waste batteries. 

Target Audience

Lawyers, judges, law students, and in general anyone who works, intends to work, or has an interest in the fields of international and transnational criminal justice and human rights.

Skills you’ll gain

International Criminal Law Overview

Accountability for International Crimes

Defining International Crimes

Key Institutions and Processes

Creating International Criminal Law

Critical and Research Skills in Law